A Simple Misunderstanding
by gioalle1
Summary: There's something Emma isn't able to do: react properly to what Regina Mills says. And when the former mayor pronounces the word "manly", the drama begins...


_N/A: Not beta'd. Mistakes are mine. I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters. _

_This story is a free development of LP's declaration "Regina's love has to be very manly" and it's my personal interpretation of how this statement can be a part of some interaction between Emma and Regina as a couple. _

It was just an ordinary conversation.

It was just another morning where an entire town was trying to keep a normal, positive routine.

After wars, fights and people traveling between realms, Storybrooke was simply aiming for a quieter life.

A few people sat at Granny's waiting for their breakfast before going to work, Eugenia Lucas' and Ruby's voices were fulfilling the air with orders and laughters.

"Find a good person, Ruby...and try to keep him close! Someone who's strong, protective and that can take care of you and your crazy head!" said Miss Lucas with a mixture of hope and irony.

"Why do you always forget the fairy tale element, Granny? The breathless moment where you fall in love...butterflies in your stomach... Magic!

I want sensitivity, not rationality!

I want flowers and chocolates, not a good bank account!

I want poetry!"

Ruby was speaking with such enthusiasm that she almost forgot that her customer had told her twice she wanted her coffee without sugar.

"No sugar, thanks", stated Regina Mills, who was sat in front of Ruby.

Miss Lucas acknowledged the presence of the former mayor and had the brilliant idea of dragging her into that trivial conversation.

"Miss Mills, am I wrong? Don't you think we all need someone who might help and protect us?"

Regina nodded absent-mindedly , showing her limited interest in that conversation. It was Ruby who insisted again in involving the brunette.

"Yes, Regina. How should be your love?"

"Manly". One single word.

And then she made it even clearer. "My love should be vary manly".

Miss Lucas considered herself quite satisfied by that answer and she looked at Ruby. "See? Manly. Exactly what I meant".

Regina smiled with that well-known satisfaction due to her usual ability to say the right thing at the right time, a feeling she had always enjoyed so much.

After just a couple of seconds, and ignoring a confused Ruby watching her from behind the counter, Regina took her black coffee and went out of the diner.

Except that she hadn't noticed someone following her.

"What the fuck, Regina!"

The older woman could only see a pair of green eyes full of unmotivated anger and confusion.

"I beg your pardon..."

It was freezing cold outside, but this hadn't stopped Emma from running outside only wearing a shirt and her beloved woolen cardigan.

"Manly" For Emma is was more a statement than a simple question. "Between all the words you could use..._manly_?"

"Does this adjective bother you, dear?"

Emma was dumbfounded. "We fuck, Regina! And you can bet your classy ass that this word bothers me!"

Regina made a step to get closer to Emma. "Don't you dare anymore saying out loud what we do in the privacy of my bedroom, Miss Swan. There's a reason we call ours a secret relationship. And that's the status I want it to keep. I hope I made myself clear."

Emma Swan was still holding her breath when Regina added "And I hope you don't use this _colorful language_ when you're with my son, by the way."

The blonde sheriff couldn't move or react; Regina's eyes were fixed on hers and she found herself unable to answer back, even if she wanted it so badly.

"Whatever..." Emma hid herself under that childish expression. But Regina hadn't finished, yet; using exactly that word as an incipit, she also stated with a sharp tone "Whatever is between us, has to stay away from the eyes of this city".

Without leaving Emma any further chance to respond, Regina walked away and reached her Mercedes, with the cup of her steaming coffee still in her hands.

Watching the older woman walking so fierce and elegant, Emma thought again about that word.

"Manly..."

And she smiled.

It was 5 in the afternoon when Regina Mills heard someone knocking at her door. The mansion, except for the former mayor, was empty, but solitude had never been a real distress Regina's life, like an old companion always by her side. Until Emma.

That's why she wasn't actually surprised to find the blonde at her door.

"Hello, Miss Swan. Can I help you?"

But what unexpectedly surprised her was noticing, out of nowhere, something different in Emma: she was wearing her usual woolen hat, but not a single lock of blonde curls could be seen coming out of that hat, falling on her shoulders.

Emma didn't need to answer. No, she didn't need a single thing.

Regina pretended to act normally and hid her surprised feeling under a serious facial expression, but she hadn't probably succeeded since Emma's grin was more and more presumptuous second after second.

"Let's see if you prefer this new version of Emma...a version I'm pretty sure you'll find a good adjective to describe..."

Emma theatrically took off her hat and something like a pixie haircut, maybe a bit longer and with longer bangs, was revealed.

It was Regina's turn to find it hard to react and Emma simply tried to be helpful just closing the door and passionately kissing Regina. It was time for her to forget about her hair and start to focus on what her tongue could do when in contact with Regina's.

Meanwhile, even if pretty distracted, Regina acknowledged the presence of just two words in her mind, O_h my god_ and _NO_, with capital letters. _._

When they parted, Regina took a deep breath, bit her lips and tried to formulate a phrase. Emma was intoxicating, in every version she could think about.

The blonde smiled. And Regina Mills exploded.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Emma?!"

There had been several moments, earlier that day, when Emma had this exact phrase on her mind, while she had her face reflected on a mirror and a pair of scissors in her hand.

"I hope this is not how you speak when Henry is with you..."

"Fuck you, Emma!"

"What can I say...I'm flattered when you use my first name...".

Emma couldn't stop herself, now that her plan was in motion.

"And, by the way...fuck _you_"

Their second kiss, the most proper answer to that exchange of views, was even more passionate. And angry.

The unusual turning point of that _fight _was when Emma lifted Regina up, without breaking the kiss, and carried her to her adjacent office, which was the closest room with a sofa they had all the intention to use. What was actually _very _unusual was the complete lack of complains from Regina who, at that point, could just deepen the kiss and grab Emma's shoulders tighter.

She tried not to think about how much she would have missed grabbing Emma's hair during _those_ _moments_.

After a few instants of confusion and slammed doors, the two women eventually reached the sofa; the former mayor was pretty sure she heard Emma saying _And I can assure you there's nothing fuckin' wrong with me, Regina Mills..._

Emma was definitely thrilled by the way her decision to cut her hair had affected Regina in such a shocking way. She could feel her passionate disappointment in every single move she made, and her renewed excitement every time Emma looked at her straight in the eyes, in a challenging way.

During their _game_, Regina, Emma and a cashmere blanket found themselves on the floor because, damn, everything was so animated, so wrong, so sexy...

Sex on the floor had never been up for discussion, but so it hadn't been Emma showing up with that insanely ridiculous haircut.

But tradition, in its own way, had been respected when Emma started to slowly undress her lover, peppering her neck with soft kisses. Or when she decided to test once more how much could Regina resist before begging the blonde for more. Or, again, when it was Regina's turn to take her _revenge_.

Once the speed of their breath eventually lowered, Regina found herself lying on the floor, covered only with her expensive blanket; Emma's head was resting on her stomach, while her fingers traced imaginary circles on the palm of the brunette's left hand. When their eyes met again, the younger woman smiled and Regina gently caressed one of her short, blonde locks.

"Ok, Regina...come clean. How do I look?"

Regina's laughter was genuine and sincere.

"You look...- oh dear, I'm so sorry..." She couldn't just stop laughing.

"This haircut is just awful, I know..." Emma finished her statement laughing even more than Regina, but between the laughters she also found enough strength to ask a question.

"Have you ever had long hair?"

Regina nodded. "Indeed I have. When I was younger...years ago."

"Before Storybrooke, I guess. When your severe and mayoral style hadn't been requested, yet."

"Yes, I guess." Regina hated when someone could read her so well, especially when it was Emma doing it.

"To me, you look great, anyway..."

"Thanks, Emma. But you're still ugly, dear..."

No matter what, they both felt relaxed and able to be ironic and funny. _That_ was maybe the biggest surprise of that day.

"Did you like my curls, Miss Mills?"

"I do. Well, I did...before you thought you had to react so badly to a conversation you overheard..."

"Don't worry about that. So...it seems that you like me!"

"I said I _liked your curls_..."

"You did, but they're a part of me...so you like _me_. And my superpower says you're not lying!"

"Your superpower doesn't work with me, dear..."

Emma interrupted Regina right away. "It does! Just like when I heard you saying your love had to be very manly..." According to Emma, that issue hadn't been closed, yet.

"It. Does. Not. Work. Just like when I said I loved Granny's decaf coffee and you started to bring a cup of it each morning in my office.

"Fuck, you're right. Granny's decaf sucks..." Emma stated with a disappointed look; her eyes had become a bit sadder, for a second, and Regina realized it. She wasn't very good in cheering someone up, but the former mayor tried anyway.

"I think that the only thing we can do now is to find something to fix your superpower until your hair grows longer again. Don't you agree?"

"I do. That's an amazing idea." agreed Emma, with her usual smile again on her face. But time wasn't a luxury for them and, after she had noticed it was 7 pm, Emma got up and started to dress.

"Henry's going to be here soon, I'd better go." Regina silently accompanied Emma to the door, handing her the woolen hat she left on the little marble table at the entrance.

Regina's expression somehow frowned and Emma couldn't avoid to perceive it. "Is there something wrong? Well, apart from my hair, of course..."

With a simple flick of her wrist, and her eyes declaring both frustration and surrender, Regina created a few twirls of purple smoke which soon materialized into Emma's long, blonde curls.

"I don't want Henry to have another woman with a frivolous pixie-cut in her life"

Emma's reaction was surprising. "Uh, thank god you fixed this mess. You have no idea how grateful I am", said the blonde touching her hair. "THANK YOU!"

"You're welcome, dear." Between all the reactions that Emma could deliver, that was definitely unexpected. "You can always thank me tomorrow for breakfast, if you want". That invitation just came out of Regina's mouth, hiding a bit of fear for a possible rejection.

"8 pm sharp. Granny's" suggested Emma.

"Deal." Regina accepted right away, omitting the part where she was actually expected to be at work by 7am.

"And no decaf. You should try some cocoa sometimes...it's not that bad, you know?"

"We'll see..." laughed Regina.

Emma wanted to hug her, and maybe also kiss her again, but the open door behind them was still a great menace for their secret relationship. Peering closely into Regina's eyes, she felt pretty sure also the brunette might have a similar desire.

"Goodbye, Miss Mills"

Emma was back, with her usual stubbornness and her blonde curls.

"Goodbye Sheriff Swan"

_- the end -_


End file.
